AUGUSTA — Fifth-seed Forest Hills got a game-high 17 points from Caitlin Logston and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch as they upset top seed Rangeley 33-29 in Thursday’s Class D girls’ basketball semifinal matchup at Augusta Civic Center.
“We knew coming into the game that they like to shoot,” Tigers coach Anthony Amero said. “Our scouting showed us they hadn’t been hitting their 3s the past few games, so we wanted them to push the ball outside.”
Rangeley launched 14 shots from behind the arc with no success.
“We like to shoot, that’s our game, and I didn’t think we really took any bad shots, they just didn’t go in for us,” Rangeley coach Heidi Deery said.
The Lakers opened the game with an aggressive first quarter, outrebounding the Tigers 10-3 and finishing the quarter with an 11-8 lead.
“We got the jitters early on. Rangeley tends to do that to teams,” Amero said.”Hats off to Rangeley, class program. Anytime you can beat the defending state champions it’s a good day for our program.”
Once the Tigers settled down and got comfortable in the second quarter, they responded by crashing the boards and following the lead of Logston, who grabbed five rebounds and scored six points.
“Her leadership down at the end of the game was fantastic, as she wanted the ball,” Amero said. “She’s worked on her game so much this year, we really depend on her senior leadership.”
“They didn’t do anything we didn’t prepare for. Hats off to them for doing a great job executing their game plan,” Deery said.
Rebounding was the key for the Lakers in their win over Valley on Tuesday, but Thursday it became their Achilles heel.
“I think we just started standing around. Rebounding is usually something we do pretty good, but we weren’t aggressive enough going after those rebounds and it really hurt us,” Deery said. “I think they lost their focus, and we were getting on them for it.”
Deery added: “We knew at the conclusion of last year, our intensity on this team was going to be something we need to work on. We don’t lack effort, it’s just that killer instinct we need to keep working on.”
After five lead changes, Alexandra Lessard hit a pair of free throws late in the half, giving Forest Hills a 19-17 heading into halftime. More importantly, it gave the Tigers momentum, as the players all high-fived and cheered running into the locker room.
“We’ve got three seniors, and they’ve worked hard all week, not wanting their season to end in just one game,” Amero said. “I think we’re seeing the leadership from those girls trickle down to the underclassmen. We only played six players today, so these girls worked real hard.”
Both teams played an even third quarter with four more lead changes. Lessard hauled down six of her game high 10 rebounds as the Tigers held a 25-23 lead entering the fourth quarter after Rangeley unsuccessfully attempted to hold and make the final shot.
With 4:20 remaining, Forest Hills entered the bonus, and after another misfire from behind the arc, Patricia Lessard grabbed the rebound and was fouled over the back by Tasha Haley. After making both free throws, the Tigers had their biggest lead of the game, 31-24.
Celia Philbrick hit a 10-foot jumper to cut the lead to five with just under three minutes to play. Despite a pair of Forest Hills turnovers, the Lakers couldn’t take advantage of the situation, either missing shots or committing turnovers of their own. Rangeley continued to foul Forest Hills, putting them to the line 13 times in the final quarter. The Tigers made the most of those opportunities, hitting eight, including six by Patricia Lessard.
“Patricia just gives everything she has. She’s just a grinder and will give every ounce on every play,” Amero said.
Rangeley cut the lead to 31-29 after a pair of free throws from Haley, but Logston sank two more free throws and the Lakers couldn’t muster anything on the offensive end of the court as time ran out.
Junior Sydney Royce finished with eight points and six rebounds, while Brooke Egan chipped in with six for the Lakers, who finish their season at 16-4.
“I’m proud of our kids, they have nothing to ashamed of. Some days you just don’t have it. Congrats to Jackman,” Deery said.
Forest Hills (12-8) will face No. 2 Vinalhaven on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
